Family Comes First
by BeeBee18
Summary: Frank's son goes missing. Can Frank and Joe find him? Reviews as well as constructive criticism are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

**Well, here it is! My first ever finished Hardy Boys fanfic. This is my first time posting an HB story, so please bear with me. I hope you enjoy! Reviews as well as constructive criticism are welcome!**

 **~BeeBee**

* * *

Joe Hardy opened the door to his office, smiling up at the gold nameplate: Joe Hardy, Private Investigator. He was still proud of that title, even after fifteen years. Like his older brother Frank, he had joined their father's private investigating firm at twenty years old. Now each of the partners in the firm lived about an hour apart from one another, each with their own branch of the firm. Joe walked into his office, setting down his briefcase and coat. He checked the office phone's answering machine for messages. There were none, so he settled down at his desk, ready to begin looking over some files for a case he had been working on involving ivory smugglers. Just then, the phone rang.

"Joe Hardy, Private Investigator."

"Joe? It's Frank."

"Hey, Frank. Everything okay?" Joe asked in response to the broken sound of Frank's voice.

"No. Joe, I need your help. Cooper's-" Here, Frank broke off suddenly and took a deep breath, attempting to compose himself long enough to say the words.

"Come on, Frank, try to calm down. It's going to be okay. Just tell me what happened."

"Joe, Cooper's missing. We can't find him anywhere."

Cooper was Frank's and Callie's sixteen-year-old son. Frank and and Callie had gotten married just after Frank had turned twenty years old and had had Cooper right away.

"How do you know he's missing?" Joe asked urgently.

"Well, he boards at high school twice a week, and everyone at the school saw him leave last night after being away from home for two nights. But he never made it home, Joe!"

Joe could hear the tears in Frank's voice and winced. Something must have really happened for Frank to be this worked up.

"Okay, Frank. I'm coming to help you. I'll be at your place in about an hour. It'll be okay. Hang in there, bro."

Frank took a shaky breath. "Thanks, Joe. See you soon."

"No problem. See you."

Joe grabbed his briefcase and coat, running out of his office and locking the door as fast as he could. Coming into the front area of the office, he spoke rapidly to his receptionist.

"Jean, I have to go out of town. Frank needs help, and you know family always comes first. Please give my present case and anything else that comes my way to Ben."

Benjamin Porter was Joe's assistant.

Jean nodded understandingly. "Of course, Joe. How long will you be away for?"

"There's no way of knowing, but I'll be sure to check in if and when I have a return date. Thanks for all your help, Jean."

"No problem! Have a safe trip, Joe."

"Thanks. Bye!" Joe raced out the door with those words and was in the garage and pulling out his car in record time.

"Hang on guys. I'm on my way."

•••

Frank stood in his living room, holding his wife Callie in his arms. She was crying, and Frank was once again fighting tears.

"Will you be able to find Cooper?" Callie asked, her voice subdued.

"We're going to try our very best," Frank replied, his voice equally as quiet. "As soon as Joe gets here we're going to set out."

Callie tightened her arms around her husband. "Be careful. I don't want to have worry about you, too. Although I probably will, anyway."

Frank hugged his wife closer. "Don't worry. We'll be just fine."

Callie sighed. "Are we going to tell Lily what happened?" Lily was their daughter. She was twelve years old and looked exactly like her father.

Frank shook his head. "Not yet. I don't want to frighten her. I'm sure we'll find him right away," he said, trying to reassure himself as well as his wife. "There won't be any need for her to know he was gone until he's back."

"I hope you're right."

Just then, a knock sounded at the door. Frank went to answer. Joe stood in front of him.

"Joe," Frank sighed in relief. "I'm so glad you're here."

Joe smiled and reached out to touch Frank's arm. "Right here, bro. How are you doing?"

Frank sighed. "I don't even know anymore."

"Don't worry. It'll all turn out alright."

"I want it to," came the grim reply. "That's what I told Callie. I just wish I could believe it."

"I'll talk to Callie for a minute, and then we can start going over what we have. It'll be okay."

Frank nodded. "Thank you."

Joe gave a small smile. "No problem. Give me a sec, and then we'll get started."

Frank sat down on the couch in the living room while Joe went to say hello his sister-in-law. He hugged her close, promising the tearful mother that he would find her son very soon.

Then he returned to Frank, finding that they had even less information to work with than he had expected.

"Well, what do we know?" he asked as he sat beside his brother.

"Just that Cooper was supposed to be home last night at about seven. When he didn't come home then, we figured he had probably missed the bus and would be home at nine. That's happened a few times. At nine-thirty, he still wasn't home. That's when we started to get nervous." Frank sucked in a breath, trying desperately to stay calm. 'Why is this happening?'

Joe put a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder. He wished his brother wasn't going through this, but since it had happened, they needed to know every detail. "Go on." His voice was quiet, tone strained.

"We called his cell phone. His roommate, Dylan, picked up. Apparently he forgot his phone at the dorm. Then I called the counselor at the school who is in charge of the tenth grade. He said he had seen Cooper get on the bus with his things. So something must have gone-" Frank choked back a sob. "Something must have gone wrong at some point during the bus ride."

"You don't think he may have just gotten off at the wrong stop and gotten a little lost?"

Frank shook his head emphatically. "He's been taking that bus route once or twice a week for the past year and a half. He could do it in his sleep. He would never get off at the wrong stop. Besides, if he did get lost, he would call us from a pay phone or somebody else's cell phone so that we wouldn't worry. He would never run away. Something must have happened to him."

Joe pondered for a moment. "I hate to say this, but do you know anyone who doesn't like you? Maybe someone who's already out of jail from a previous case you worked? We were kidnapped a few times because of Dad's work."

"I don't know! I was thinking that myself, but I don't want to believe it. How could anyone take my precious son? They should have taken me if they wanted anything!"

Joe wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulders and held him close as the tears he had been holding back finally spilled out. "Don't worry," he said gently. "We're going to find him. A person can't just disappear into thin air, and we've found missing people before. It might be hard, but that doesn't mean we'll stop."

Frank lifted his head, offering his brother a sad smile. "Thanks, Joe. I really appreciate your coming here to help."

Joe returned the smile, squeezing Frank's shoulder comfortingly. "Anytime, bro. That's what I'm here for."

Callie came to the doorway of the living room and smiled affectionately at the brothers. "Hey," she said. Her eyes were full of sadness, but she stood strong. "I have lunch ready in the kitchen. I think you guys should eat before you head out."

Nodding in agreement, the two men stood and followed Callie into the kitchen. Callie put out the food, and all three began eating quickly, not wanting to waste time.

"I wish I could go with you. I want to find Cooper, too," Callie sighed.

"No!" Frank yelled, rage in his eyes for a fleeting moment. "I won't let you come with us! You've not been trained - I will not have anyone else hurt because of me."

Callie understood immediately. Frank was afraid of anyone else he loved getting hurt. She ran around the table and wrapped her arms around her husband. "I'm not coming with you," she whispered. "I just wish I was able to. I want to find my son. But don't worry, Frank. I'm not coming," she repeated.

Frank hugged his wife. "I'm sorry. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart." She kissed his cheek gently and returned to her seat.

Joe and Callie were both relieved to see Frank's features more visibly relaxed than they had been all day as he returned to his meal. They ate for a few more minutes in silence before Joe stretched and reached out to squeeze Frank's arm.

"Hey, bro. I think we should get going."

Frank nodded. "Let's go."

The two changed into warm, comfortable, layered clothing and sneakers. They filled their pockets with whatever might be necessary- pocket flashlights, batteries, matches, lock picks, and other important provisions. Callie packed them sandwiches and bottles of juice and water to take with them in the van. They also brought along sleeping bags and an extra change of clothes. They had no way of knowing how long they would be gone, so they wanted to have enough for the worst case scenario.

Before they left, Frank and Callie held each other tightly for a long time. Finally, Callie stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Frank gently, letting him go. Frank left his wife reluctantly, even as the need to find his son dragged him to the van. He found that he could not figure out the complicated mix of emotions swirling inside of him, so he was quiet as he climbed into the van, where Joe was already at the wheel. Joe started the van, and they were off.

•••

Joe looked over at his older brother a few minutes into the drive. "You okay?" he asked gently.

Frank hadn't spoken since he had hugged Callie goodbye, and Joe was becoming concerned.

Frank shook himself out of his deep thought and smiled at Joe in thanks. "Yeah. But I'm confused. I don't think I've ever felt this way before. It's a lot to take in."

Joe nodded, understanding in his eyes. "I know," he said. "Really."

Frank nodded, gratitude showing in his face. He knew that Joe could see the thanks he was incapable of saying past the lump in his throat right now.

"But try not to worry so much." Joe spoke again, a small smile letting Frank know he had seen the look. "We're going to find him."

"I hope you're right," came the choked reply.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to Cherylann Rivers and max2013 for their kind and encouraging reviews! They really made my day. Here's chapter two! Hope you enjoy!**

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The brothers decided to start at Cooper's school and work backwards, so they were now driving to Washington Prep School. It was about half an hour from Frank's house, and as they drove, Frank was regretting the decision to send his son to this school more and more.

"I can't believe I sent my son to a school so far away from home. I mean, what if he was in danger of this happening all year and we didn't even notice?" The man dropped his head into his hands, wondering how he could be such an awful father.

"Frank, none of this is your fault. If I recall correctly, Cooper begged you to be able to go to that school. And it made him so happy when you finally said yes. Remember? You've done absolutely nothing wrong, Frank. Alright? Nothing."

Frank nodded tiredly. "I guess you're right. But I just keep thinking- what if I had said 'no'? Would Cooper be at home, and safe?"

"There's never any way to know. Let's just try and focus on getting Cooper back. Then we can think about what to do differently next time. Okay?"

Frank nodded and stared straight ahead, trying to get his emotions back under control so that he could concentrate on finding his son.

"Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"I-I got so upset at Callie before because I have an idea of whom we might be dealing with."

"Who?" Joe pounced on the lead.

"His name's Anthony Bruno. I put him in jail three years ago for theft and drug dealing. He's the only one out of jail already that would be capable of doing something like this. He's dangerous."

"Oh, man. Okay. We'll just have to be careful."

They drove in silence for a while, each with his own thoughts.

Soon, Joe stopped at a red light. He looked at his brother for a long moment, wishing he could help him through this emotionally difficult time. He realized that the only thing that would help Frank would be to find Cooper, so he looked away, focusing on thinking of what else they could do.

"Hey, Joe?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you again for this. I...I don't think I've told you in a long while, but I love you. I'm blessed to have you as a brother."

Joe looked over at his brother, surprised but pleased at the sudden statement. Frank had never been one to express his feelings verbally. Throughout their childhood and teen years he had always expressed his support and love for his younger brother through smiles, encouraging words, and the occasional gentle squeeze on the shoulder. Now that they were adults, it was the weekly phone call or e-mail, checking in with his brother to see how he was doing. Joe was just the opposite. In his childhood and teens, he had always been free with hugs and "I love you"s to the people who were closest to him- his immediate family and his girlfriend. After the death of Iola, the first real love of his life, he had become slightly more reserved with his feelings, but felt the love for his family just as strongly, if not more than before. When Vanessa Bender, now his wife, had come into his life, he had re-opened a little. But he would never have expected Frank to open up like that.

Joe smiled at his brother. "I love you, too. And please don't thank me. I'm your brother. Helping you is part of the job description."

Frank grinned, then looked back to the windshield as the light changed from red to green. Joe turned the corner and pulled into the school parking lot. The two men jumped out and met in front of the van. Joe leaned against the front of the van, drumming his fingers on the headlight as he thought out loud. "Let's go talk to some people in the school. Then we can board the seven o'clock bus that Cooper was supposed to take," he began, planning their investigation route.

Frank nodded his agreement. They headed into the school.

•••

John Woodson had been the principal of Washington Prep for twenty-five years. He was a portly man with a kind face in his mid-60s. His gray hair was receding from his brow and he wore a dark gray suit. He was sitting at his desk, reading over a student's report when Frank and Joe entered. He looked up.

"Hello, Mr. Hardy. And this is?"

"Hi, Mr. Woodson. This is my younger brother, Joe Hardy."

The principal shook hands with both men and gestured for them to sit in the chairs facing his desk.

"What brings you two to my office today?"

"My son appears to have gone missing," Frank said, careful to keep his tone businesslike. "We were wondering if you knew anything, or if you heard from him since he left school last night."

"No, I'm sorry, I haven't heard anything from him."

"Did you see anything unusual around the bus stop or in the bus?" Joe asked.

"No. Well, actually…" the man trailed off.

"Yes?" Frank leaned forward, eager at the prospect of a clue. "What did you see?"

"The driver was different than usual. I just thought they changed the drivers' routes, but maybe it was something else. I really don't know." The man shrugged. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you."

"No, no," Joe reassured the man, excitement in his voice. "You've been a great help. If you could just give us the name of the bus company, and the name of the previous driver, that would be extremely helpful."

Mr. Woodson gave them the information. After thanking him profusely, the two men went out to the van.

Joe pulled out his cell phone and, glancing at the slip of paper in his hand, called the bus depot.

"Hello, Massachusetts Bus Depot," a girl answered.

"Hello. I was wondering which route Emilio Viscas drives."

"Give me moment to check. Please hold."

Joe heard a click as elevator music began playing from the speaker of the phone. They sat for about a minute before Joe began to get impatient. He sighed and shook the phone. "Come on! It can't take that long to look up a driver!"

"It's only been about a minute, Joe. Besides, this depot covers hundreds and hundreds of drivers. You can't expect them to find him in two seconds."

"But we might finally have a lead! Something to work off of!"

"I know," Frank said with a grin. "That's why I'm willing to wait a few extra minutes if we can get the right information."

Joe was about to retort when the girl got back on the phone. "Emilio Viscas drives Route 10, past Washington Prep."

"And he drove it yesterday?" Joe asked eagerly.

"Yes."

"He hasn't been transferred to a different route?"

"No, he's driven this route for seven years."

"Alright. Thank you very, very much."

"No problem, sir. Have a nice day."

"You, too."

When Joe hung up, he was grinning from ear to ear. "Well, that confirms it. Something was definitely set up. Let's get on that seven o'clock bus."

It was now 6:30. Both men ate something and made sure they had sweatshirts and their little gadgets. As their father had trained them so many years ago, they prepared for every possibility.

At 6:55 they got out of the van, locked it, and walked to the bus stop. Frank held out a thumb as the bus came down the street, and the bus pulled over. The two clambered on quickly and looked at the driver. His name tag read "Emilio".

"Are you Emilio Viscas?" Frank asked quickly.

The man nodded. "Yes."

"Did you drive this route at seven o'clock yesterday?"

The driver looked around quickly. Nobody else was on the bus, so he began to speak. "Well, I was supposed to, but somebody grabbed me. They bound and gagged me and put me in the back of the bus. They told me they'd take the route for today. I must have passed out at some point. It seems that they did take the route because the bus depot thought I had driven it and there were no complaints. I didn't report anything because I was fine and I didn't want to start an uproar."

"Yeah, well, you were fine, but my son was kidnapped," Frank said grimly.

The driver gasped. "I'm sorry, sir!"

Frank sighed. "It's alright. Do you think you could describe the man who grabbed you?"

"He looked Italian, but he had an Canadian accent. He was pretty tall- probably about six foot. And he was strong. I'm sorry. I guess that's not a very good description."

"Well, no," Joe said bluntly. "But it's something to work off of. Thank you."

"No problem, sir," the driver said as the two men paid their fare and went to sit in the back of the bus. They discussed the case in whispers as the bus drove down the streets.

"That's a pretty accurate description of Anthony Bruno," Frank told his brother.

"Maybe he'll will get on the bus again!" Joe said. He was thrilled at the prospect of finding the kidnapper. "Keep an eye out."

Frank nodded tersely. "Don't look now," he whispered as the bus stopped at the next stop and a dark-toned man stepped onto the bus. Both men sized him up immediately. Thin but broadly built, the man stood at about six foot and had a menacing spark in his eyes. He gave the bus driver a long glare before going to his seat.

Joe looked at his brother. "Is that him?" he whispered.

Frank nodded. "Yup." He slipped to the front of the bus.

"Alright, Mr. Viscas. We're going to try to nab him. Don't worry, we're licensed to do this. If there's any sort of struggle, don't pay attention. Just keep driving. We'll be able to deal with it."

The driver focused his attention on the road and nodded to show he understood.

Frank walked over to the man's seat, signaling to Joe with his eyes as he went. He decided for once to listen to Joe's old tactics and use something Joe had used to do, what he called an "ambush interview"*. Joe figured that surprising someone would get more answers out of them.

"What have you done with my son?" Frank asked the man, looking him in the eye.

The man glared at Frank for a long moment. Understanding flickered suddenly in his eyes and he lunged at Frank.

* * *

*This is a tactic that is mentioned to be used by Joe in Casefile #45: In Self Defense. Thought it would be interesting to bring it up here.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am so sorry about the late upload! Busy is an understatement for what I've been the past couple of days... Anyway, here is chapter 3! Chapter 4 is coming right after this and will be the last one. Hope you enjoy!**

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Joe was on his feet and in the middle of the bus seconds after the man had jumped on his brother. He tackled the man, landing on top of him. He turned him over and twisted the man's arms behind him until the man winced in pain and stopped struggling.

Frank knelt in front of the man, breathing heavily. "Anthony Bruno?" he asked sharply.

The man snarled. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

"You're being charged with kidnapping as soon as we call the police," Joe replied from on top of him, "and it's likely there will some other charges as well."

"Where is Cooper Hardy?" Frank asked. His voice was serious and the look in his eyes was murderous.

The man remained silent until Joe shoved his knee into the incapacitated man's back.

"Alright, fine. I'll show you where your son is."

•••

Meanwhile, in a cave about eight miles away, a young, blonde-haired man sat shivering in a corner. He was bound, cold, and starving, as the last time he had eaten was thirty-six hours before. A man sat across from him, staring him down, almost daring him to try to escape his prison. The man, whose name was Max Alexander, had just finished an early dinner, and was sure to remind Cooper of how he had food when the boy did not. Now he held a gun pointed in Cooper's direction.

"Y'know," he began, "we only took you to get back at your father. He got us jailed a couple of years back, just for petty theft. I think we've hurt you enough. The only real way to get revenge on poor daddy is if you're gone - permanently."

He aimed the gun at the boy's chest.

Cooper gulped and shrank back, wishing his father was there with him.

The man smiled evilly. "I hope you have a slow and painful death, Cooper Hardy."

He pulled the trigger.

•••

Frank and Joe, led by Anthony Bruno, scrambled up the long, windy path that lead to the top of a cliff. There was a small cave at the top of the cliff. Both men knew that if Bruno was lying, once they got into that cave, they were trapped. They were willing to take the risk, however, anxious as they were to find Cooper. Finally, they were within a few feet of the cave. Just as Frank was picking up his pace even more, eager to get to his son, a gunshot rang out.

Frank stopped dead, his face a ghostly shade of white. "No," he whispered. They were so close to his son! Would Cooper be taken from them again - forever this time?

Joe caught up to his brother quickly, putting a hand on the shaking shoulder. "Come on, Frank. We don't know what's going on in there," he reminded the older man. "And we can only know if we go in."

"I can't," Frank whispered.

"Of course you can. I'm sure he's fine. Would you like me to go in there first and find out what's going on?"

At Frank's nod, Joe squeezed his brother's shoulder and went inside the cave.

Inside, a man was muttering as he tried, without luck, to reload a gun. Then he saw his nephew, bound and shaking in the corner, a bullet hole in the wall of the cave above his head. Anger erupted suddenly inside of Joe. He had been careful to hold back his emotions until now in order to help Frank, but now Frank wasn't here. It was just him, seeing the terrible state his nephew was in because of some awful people he didn't even know. He managed to restrain himself until the man, who had still not seen him, turned his head fully to the other side. He took the opportunity to jump on the man and wrestle the gun from him. The man was not very strong, and Joe was able to overcome him with ease. A hard punch to the jaw finished off the job, knocking the man out cold.

"He's okay, Frank," Joe yelled, running to the mouth of the cave for a moment before returning to his nephew.

"Hey Cooper," he said gently as he bent down in front of his nephew, using his pocketknife to cut away the ropes that bound Cooper's hands and feet.

As soon as the ropes were gone, the boy fell into his uncle's arms. Joe hugged his nephew, holding on tight. "You're safe now, Cooper. It's okay."

"Where's Dad?" Cooper asked quietly.

"He's here somewhere. He was too afraid to come in here - he was scared that you were hurt.

"Frank!" Joe bellowed again. "Get in here! He's okay!"

Finally, Frank came running. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he dropped to his knees beside his brother and wrapped his son in his arms. "Did they hurt you?" he asked, afraid for the answer.

Cooper gave a slight nod. "I think I'm mostly okay, but I'm feeling kind of faint and my hand is killing."

"Let's get you to a hospital to get you checked out," Frank said, standing and helping his son up.

"Where's Bruno?" Joe asked, abruptly remembering the other criminal.

"I knocked him out," Frank said with a rueful smile. "I may have gotten a little angry and punched him."

"Just a little?" Joe grinned. "This one's also out," he added, gesturing at the unconscious man on the ground.

Frank pulled a length of rope from his knapsack and bound the man's hands and feet with it. "We'll stop by the police department on our way to the hospital and tell them they can pick these guys up on charges of kidnapping and assault," Frank decided as he led the way out of the cave.

They got a bus back to the school where they got into the van. Once again, Joe drove, while Frank sat in the backseat, holding his son close.

Joe parked by the police station for a moment. He tipped them off and gave them his cell phone number if they needed information on the two criminals. He then explained that he had to get his nephew to the hospital and left at a run.

Five minutes later, they were pulling up at the nearby hospital and checking in at the Emergency Room. Cooper was taken into an examination room as nurse informed Frank and Joe that they would be allowed to see Cooper soon.

They sat down in chairs in the waiting room. Frank put his head in his hands, breathing out a shaky sigh. "That was the scariest thing that ever happened to me," he said quietly. "The thought of losing my son…" He trailed off, unable to continue the horrible thought.

"I know," Joe said, putting a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder. He turned his face away for a moment and blinked hard, feeling hot tears unexpectedly burn his eyes as his own son came to mind. Vanessa, his wife, had miscarried their son fourteen years earlier. It was for this reason that Joe and Vanessa still had no children.

Frank found himself shocked at the insensitivity of his own words. How could his worry and subsequent relief have made him forget his brother's own hardships?

"I'm sorry, Joe," he murmured, lifting his head and squeezing his brother's shoulder.

"That's okay, Frank. Really. It's completely legitimate to be relieved that your son is alright. That was quite a scare. But I have to admit, I've been jealous of you and Callie many times because you have children. I wish Vanessa and I could be that lucky."

"I hope you will be one day. Having children is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I've had some pretty good things happen in my life, so that's saying something. For instance, I got you as a brother."

Tears once again filled Joe's eyes as he looked at his brother. "Thank you," he whispered, overcome with emotion. He and his brother had always been exceptionally close and the best of friends, but Frank had never told him something like that before.

Frank smiled and pulled him into a tight hug for a long moment before they released each other. Just then, a doctor came into the waiting room.

"Family of Cooper Hardy?"

Frank and Joe stood up, looking at the doctor expectantly.

The doctor came over and shook hands with both of them, then gestured for them to sit down.

"Cooper is alright for the most part. He has three broken fingers on his left hand, and a few scratches and scrapes, but other than that, he seems to be mostly fine. He is severely dehydrated, however, so we've got him on an IV. We've set the broken fingers and bandaged anything that needed it. He should be ready to go home by tomorrow morning, if not tonight. You can see him now, if you'd like."

"Thank you," Frank breathed in relief. "Joe, you go in to see him. I'll call Callie, and then I'll be right in."

Joe nodded, patting his brother on the shoulder with a smile. He stood and, following the directions the doctor had given him, found himself standing outside room 304 - Cooper's room. He gave a gentle knock, then opened the door.

"Hey," Cooper said from the bed. His voice was quiet but strong.

"Hey, Cooper," Joe said with a smile. He crossed the room and sat at his nephew's bedside, taking the boy's uninjured hand in his. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright. I still don't know exactly what happened, but I'll be okay."

"That's good to hear," Joe said with a warm smile. "Your dad is just letting your mom know that you're safe, he'll be right in."

"Thanks."

The two made small talk as they waited for Frank to come in. Joe did not release his nephew's hand for even a moment, somehow still nervous about his nephew's health. The contact helped to reassure him that the boy really would be okay.

•••

Frank pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing his home number and putting the device to his ear. Callie answered on the first ring.

"Frank?"  
Frank smiled as he imaged his wife standing vigil by the phone, waiting for his call.

"Hey, Cal. We found him."

He heard Callie's exhale of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Is he alright?"

"Yeah, he's fine. He's in the hospital right now, just for dehydration and a couple of broken fingers, but he'll recover completely. He should be released either tonight or tomorrow morning. We'll see you soon. Okay, Cal?"

"Alright. Thank you, dearest. Thank you for finding our son. I'll see you soon."

She disconnected the call before Frank could correct her, could tell her how Joe had done absolutely everything, how he himself had done nothing except be frightened for his son, which had been of no help to anyone. He was ashamed of that now. But regardless of how he felt about the way he had handled the past forty-eight hours, he knew that it was most important now that he see his son. Not wanting to waste another moment, he set off at a rapid pace in the direction of room 304. He opened the door slowly to see Joe sitting by a dozing Cooper's side, holding his hand and stroking it gently. He looked up sharply when he heard the close behind Frank, but visibly relaxed when he saw it was just his brother.

As Joe jumped up to greet him, Frank was certain he could see tears in his brother's eyes, although he couldn't think why.

"Oh, Frank." Joe's hand reached out and grabbed Frank's shoulder in an iron grip for a moment, then released it before continuing to speak. "Cooper told me about all the pain they caused him. It's awful."

"But he seemed so unhurt!" Frank cried out, immediately going into 'protective father mode'. "They said he wasn't badly hurt!"

"He wasn't, Frank. It's okay." Joe's voice was gentle and reassuring, calming the distraught father. "It seems that most of it was emotional. They would fire their gun when it wasn't loaded and things like that, just to scare him. But just when he spoke about it...you could tell it had really scared him. And they also slapped and punched him quite a number of times, as well as tying him up, gagging him, starving him, and attempting to shoot him in the head. I don't get it. They had him for less than twenty-four hours, Frank!"

Frank went immediately to his son's bedside, running his fingers through the boy's light brown hair as he spoke to him. "I'm so sorry, son. I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Cooper, hearing his father's voice, slowly opened his eyes. "Dad?"

"Cooper?! Yeah, son. I'm right here."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I can't believe I got myself into so much trouble just coming home from school. I messed up bigtime, didn't I?"

"No! No, Cooper. Don't ever think that. The only people that messed up at were those awful guys for taking you. And probably me, for not being able to protect you," he added, quietly enough that Cooper wouldn't hear.

Cooper didn't, so he simply smiled and said, "Thanks, Dad."

Frank looked down at his son tenderly and squeezed his hand. "We're going to take you home soon. In the meantime, try to get some rest. I'm right here, Cooper. I'm not leaving."


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't think this is the best chapter I've ever written...**

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The next morning, Frank sat with his son in the backseat of the van as Joe drove them home. Callie was waiting for them on the front stoop when they arrived home. She ran out and reached into the van, pulling her son into her arms and holding him close. Frank got out of the van, allowing them some space, and went over to Joe, who was leaning against the front wheel.

"You did it," Joe said with a smile.

Frank looked at the ground in shame. "I didn't do anything. You did everything that actually helped. I couldn't even look after my own son."

Joe opened his mouth to retort, anger bubbling inside of him. Just before the words came, however, he stole a quick glance at the van. He didn't want to frighten Callie or Cooper, so he instead grabbed Frank by the arm and half-dragged him through the open door of the house.

Frank sat down on the couch in the front room, confused at why Joe seemed so angry.

"Why are you so stupid?!" Joe shouted, whirling on him suddenly.

"What?" Frank stood again.

"You keep thinking you let everyone down! Just use your brain, Frank! You've got a really good one. Just think about one good reason why anyone should blame you for what happened!"

"Joe, I'm the kid's father. It's my job to protect him!"

"But you can't blame yourself for what you can't control! It's crazy to do that!"

"So what if it's crazy!" Frank roared. "It's the way I feel!" He sank back down to the couch. "You think I don't want to protect the people I love?" he added, more quietly.

Joe's face softened as he sat beside his brother. "Come here, stupid," he said, pulling his brother into a quick hug. "I know you want to protect your family. But there are some things you can't control. I learned that the hard way, a number of times," he told Frank as he released him. "And I would never want you to go through the same guilt I did. Just be grateful that Cooper is safe. After all, it's not like you can follow him around with security cameras, right?" he asked.

"It wouldn't be such a bad idea," Frank said with a grin.

Joe gave him a playful slap on the arm. "No, it wouldn't, it would be torture for your son, and that would be all it would be. You can't foresee everything that's going to happen, alright? You can just try to be careful."

Frank knew his brother was right. He couldn't help feeling a little guilty, but his brother's words had reassured him.

"Thanks, Joe." His voice was gravelly with emotion, but he held it together. "I never would have been able to get through this without you."

"Hey, you know me," Joe joked, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked, and Frank was immediately smiling and shaking his head at Joe's "humility", as Joe liked to put it.

Cooper and Callie came back into the house a short time later. Cooper sat between Frank and Callie on the couch while his parents clung to him for long minutes before finally letting go, albeit reluctantly. Cooper, for the first time in his teenage years, did not seem to really mind the long hug, and even hugged his parents back, grateful for such a family.

•••

Frank and Joe went for a long walk later that day. They strode side by side in silence for a long while. Finally, Joe spoke.

"You could've, y'know."

"What?"

"You said before that you wouldn't have been able to get through this without me. But you would have. Sure, it would've been hard at times, but you would've gotten through it. You don't give yourself enough credit, Frank."

Frank flushed and looked at the ground. "I appreciate the sentiment, bro, but you know just as well as I do that that's not true. And that's okay. I'm grateful for your help, Joe."

"Hey, listen, Frank, as much as I'd like to take the credit," Joe began jokingly, "you are a great detective as well as an amazing father, and you worked well on this case. A lot better than I would have been in this situation. I congratulate you on a job well done."

"Thank you, Joe. I really do appreciate it."

Joe was about to answer when his cell phone began ringing. Elvis's voice belting, "But I can't help falling in love with you…." filled the quiet street. This was Joe's special ringtone for Vanessa.

Joe grinned and pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open. "Hey, babe. What's up?"

"Joe? Hi. I need you to come home. Right now, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Van. Everything okay?"

"Everything's fantastic! But I need you to come home." Vanessa sounded scatter-brained but absolutely delighted.

"On my way. I'll be home in an hour. See you then, babe. Love you. Bye."

"I'm sorry, Frank," Joe apologized to his brother. "Van needs me at home. I'll see you soon. Keep in touch, okay?"

"Of course. Send Van my love."

"Will do."

The brothers hugged each other, releasing each other after a moment.

Joe jogged the remaining few steps they had until arriving back at Frank's house and jumped in the van. "Bye!" He waved as he pulled out of the driveway, then turned his attention to the road and drove off.

•••

Vanessa was at the door to meet Joe and hugged him as tightly as she could as soon as he was inside.

"Hey, Van," Joe greeted her as he returned the hug. "What's goin' on?"

"Joe, come sit down." The couple sat on the couch, Vanessa practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

"I thought it would never happen, but it did! It did!"

"What did? What happened, Van?"

"Joe, I'm pregnant!"

"What?!"

Vanessa nodded her head eagerly.

"You're kidding me."

"No. Are you happy?"

"Happy? Van, happy isn't the word for it! I'm delighted! I'm ecstatic and elated and thrilled and overjoyed. Happy just doesn't cover it!"

Vanessa snuggled against her husband and let out a contented sigh. "Me too."

Joe kissed her. "So am I. I can't wait to have a child."

"It'll be a new stage of our lives. Are you ready?"

"How could I not be? You're in my life. We'll help each other along. Even if it's hard, that won't stop us!"

"I love you, Joe Hardy."

"I love you, too, Vanessa Bender Hardy, love of my life."

The couple held each other for a long time, rapturous at this turn of events.

Later that day, they called Frank and Callie, as well as Laura and Fenton Hardy and Andrea Bender. Predictably, everyone was delighted at the prospect of another Hardy.

The family shared its happiness, becoming more closely knit all the while, and loving each other very much.

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 **I want to say a HUGE thank you to Cherylann Rivers, max2013, and Drumboy100 for their reviews throughout this story. Also a HUGE thank you to anyone who read. I hope you enjoyed my first little fic!**

 **BeeBee**


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